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NetApp SnapMirror vs NetApp Snapshot comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

NetApp SnapMirror
Ranking in Data Replication
2nd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NetApp Snapshot
Ranking in Data Replication
1st
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Data Replication category, the mindshare of NetApp SnapMirror is 19.2%, down from 20.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp Snapshot is 22.8%, up from 22.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Replication
 

Featured Reviews

Abdul-Salam - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides great data loss recovery and real time replication
Deployment was very smooth and took around two weeks. Following that, we carried out our data migration which took time. We previously used a Windows file independent server with its own local disk and Windows OS. It's not compatible with NetApp so data had to be physically migrated. We also took extra time integrating with our antivirus software and configuring external tape libraries with NetApp. We had one staff member involved in the deployment and an engineer from our partners. We have close to 900 users. The solution requires routine tasks as opposed to maintenance. We have three or four people with access to this storage.
Mir Gulzar Ahmed - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers point-in-time copy functionality, restore process is very fast, and the resources are easy to configure
Snapshot doesn't work well when you're already backing up data with another software. For example, if a customer has backup software in their environment and wants to use Snapshot alongside it, that won't work effectively. It will bubble up back-end storage space. Also, if a customer frequently deletes data, Snapshot will take up a lot of space. For example, if they write one terabyte of data and delete it at the end of the day, and then rewrite it the next day, scheduling a snapshot in that scenario will cause it to take up a lot of space. So, in scenarios where you need data protection, you have to use NetApp Snapshot exclusively and not use any other product for that. Secondly, where there's a lot of data deletion or overwriting, NetApp's Snapshot will not be an effective way to provide backup and recovery. I've told a lot of my customers this because I've seen the problems firsthand. They call me saying their storage is full, and I find that they are deleting and then copying the data repeatedly. I ask them why they're doing it, and they say it's their daily work to archive, delete, and copy. So I have to disable the Snapshot and tell them that if they're already copying the data with other tools and deleting it, then the data isn't important, and they don't need a snapshot or backup of it. For additional features: NetApp is already a visionary company. They analyze their deployed products and change them according to customer requirements. To me, it's not about technical improvement, but the price factor is important for selling the product. So, the price factor is challenging. Snapshot is a ten out of ten. If the whole product needs improvement, I think one feature they could add is an alarm or notification in the NetApp management console if you're frequently deleting data or using a volume for backups. The alarm would indicate that you don't need to enable Snapshot in that case. That kind of alarm, notification, or indication could be added. If a customer is deleting data very frequently, there should be a mechanism to notify the administrator. A message should be triggered if the customer has enabled Snapshot, advising them to disable it, as it will use unnecessary storage. This would be a helpful feature. Otherwise, administrators or deployers should know to discuss this with the customer during deployment. They should advise the customer not to enable Snapshot on volumes where they frequently delete and copy or archive data.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"They have a very effective dashboard and good reports."
"The technical support is quite good."
"Overall, the product is very good. It's an easy to use tool."
"The synchronous and real-time replication are the most vital features of NetApp SnapMirror"
"The technology enables us to have a safe backup."
"The tool seamlessly moves data over the network without putting pressure on the network."
"NetApp SnapMirror's ease of use and reliability are valuable features."
"There are a lot of features that are excellent. The data compression during the transfer, for example, is good. The replication is great. The durability of the solution and the speed of the data moving from one site to another is impressive."
"The consistency of Snapshot is very significant."
"The initial setup was straightforward."
"The most valuable features of the solution are the repurposing and backup features."
"It has a user-friendly interface."
"It doesn't occupy a lot of space and is very easy to use once you schedule the snapshots."
"The most valuable features of NetApp Snapshot are the integration with other vendors and customization."
"From a functional standpoint, it's been, pretty much bulletproof. I have never gone to a snapshot and not been able to do what I needed to do."
"The solution is fast and it doesn't use any disc space at all. You can also take as many snapshots as you like. These are the solution's most valuable features."
 

Cons

"It's necessary to install NetApp simulator to avoid complications."
"The tool should also work on third-party solutions."
"At the moment, we are not using the synchronous mirror, but we can implement the synchronous mirror. The only thing is that it needs another license. This is the same issue we have with business continuity. It needs another license to be implemented. You need too many separate licenses for the features. They should add some of the aspects of the premium bundle into the basic bundle. Sometimes our customers choose other replication services because of the initial cost of the licenses."
"Compression and deduplication could be improved."
"They could make continued enhancements in integration with diverse platforms for the product."
"The solution's dashboard and reporting could be improved."
"We have different families of storage, such as the E-Series and Flash systems, but NetApp cannot be set up between them."
"The price could be cheaper."
"I would like some sort of notification that lets me know when a snapshot is done or not done."
"There should be an alarm or notification in the NetApp management console if you're frequently deleting data or using a volume for backups."
"The price could be a bit lower."
"The licensing cost could be improved."
"The solution needs to ensure it has higher availability or business continuity."
"The initial setup process of NetApp Snapshot is not easy and needs improvement."
"The price could be improved a little bit."
"The solution should have a snapshot mode using AI to decide when to create the snapshot, depending on the workload."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"SnapMirror is extremely expensive. We had a hard time adjusting to our budget. If rated on a scale of one to ten, with ten being the most expensive, I would definitely rate it ten out of ten."
"The pricing could be improved."
"The solution has monthly and yearly licensing options."
"The cost is low compared to different vendors."
"The pricing can be improved."
"It's part of the NetApp Firewall, so it's free."
"The product price is reasonable."
"It's a highly cost-effective solution"
"As far as their licensing costs, the licensing is paid on a yearly basis. The organization pays for the licensing based on the software and the capacity that they choose."
"The price of the solution is reasonable but could improve. However, if you are in a country that has a poor currency then the price will be considered expensive."
"It's not too expensive."
"Snapshot is free and comes with the NetApp storage software. It's purely free of cost."
"If there is a way to save more on the number of snapshots, it should be included in the next release."
"The price of this solution is fair."
"The price of NetApp Snapshot depends on the use case. They charge by how much data you need, the capability, and for snap licenses."
"NetApp Snapshot is expensive since you need to buy an additional premium license for it which is an extra cost over the payments made for NetApp...The license works during the entire life cycle of NetApp Snapshot."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
21%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
24%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about NetApp SnapMirror?
The performance and stability are valuable features. It seems to fulfill all the requirements.
What needs improvement with NetApp SnapMirror?
They could make continued enhancements in integration with diverse platforms for the product.
What method of data replication does NetApp Snapshot use?
Here's a breakdown of how the data replication by NetApp Snapshot works: it's through the snapshot replication method. What does that mean? Well, in simple words, the software creates copies of dat...
What is the storage scale of NetApp Snapshot?
Last time I checked, the NetApp Snapshot data replication software could go up to 255 snapshot copies. I'm not sure how familiar you are with similar software, but that's a pretty good number. It g...
Will NetApp Snapshot recover data in an emergency?
Well yes, the snapshots that NetApp Snapshot creates are your backup. But then there's also their feature for advanced backup. This allows you to copy backups to offline locations and also make arc...
 

Also Known As

SnapMirror
No data available
 

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Overview

 

Sample Customers

University at Albany, City of Houston, Yahoo Japan, Washington Employment Security Department, DG Khan Cement Co. Ltd., AmTrust Financial Services, Sheridan College
Mazda
Find out what your peers are saying about NetApp SnapMirror vs. NetApp Snapshot and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,158 professionals have used our research since 2012.